Less than two weeks, and counting

It’s getting so close now, and to whet your appetite, we’ve (drum roll……..) published the Programme.

The day is going to be fantastic. Jeanie and Claire have done a wonderful job in putting the Programme together, having to juggle all sorts of constraints and difficult decisions.

Starting with a draft list of speakers, their proposed titles, and performers, and an idea of the timings of start, finish and breaks, the main challenge is to give the day a coherent flow. Should the four sessions be themed? Or might there be an interesting way of juxtaposing subjects? Jeanie and Claire decided on the former. So then, what should these themes be? How can the talks and performances be combined to connect with each other, and keep the audience on the edge of their seats?

The timing is going to have to be ruthless. Talks are limited to 12,15,18 minutes, and some of the performances timed to the half-minute. What to do about the difficult ‘graveyard’ slot after lunch? How best to ensure everyone stays to the end? How can the TED Talks be squeezed in? And which TED Talks? There are so many possibilities, but they have to be the right length, and combine well with the live talks.

It’s really hard, when contacted late in the day by someone who would make a brilliant speaker on a fascinating subject, to say that the programme is so jam-packed that it would be impossible to shoe-horn them in. Especially when you’ve already realised that there isn’t room for a TED Talk on the oceans, which is such a vital area of concern.